y'know, it's funny, in all the articles i read about hofmann, he's very guarded about being a proponent of psychedelic use in the same way that leary was. and he certainly wasn't going around dosing the kool-aid at his house parties the way kesey's crew did, but even with all of his reservations, it is interesting to see how he's gone from a guarded endorsement of the substances to being really out front about raising funds for all sorts of groups doing psychedelic research. i think as he ages he realizes that while "we" (the freaky deaky counterculture types) may not be the allies he'd have chosen to champion his research, "we" are promoting a much better vision for the future than "them" -- the social forces who would rather see psychedelics illegal and take it out of the therapeutic and artistic communities and put it under the umbrella of law enforcement.

he continually reasserts his interest in ecology and how psychedelics gave him a window into his youthful peace with nature and i think that's the key to understanding his relationship with the substances.

the term "entheogen" has become popular in recent years to describe a category of drugs that manifests god or god consciousness within. i think that hofmann's understanding of how the drugs put him in touch with ecology fall under the general umbrella of "at-one-with-all-of-life" and, therefore, the divinity of all life, and, therefore, the entheogenic properites of the drug.

once you accept that angle, it is tough to want to have people who use the drug be given lengthy prison sentences or endorse the practices of punishing people who are, quite literally, simply pursuing forbidden knowledge.

marco, i'm glad you made it. please give a full report. i spent my birthday in a bit of a funk over it, and all i can really say, somewhat cynically, is "thanks AT 40." not getting paid made it too much of a challenge to make it to switzerland.

i don't need to tell you that, though.

i just heard from mike that he's trusty's road manager. funny how we all know one another. give my best to senor blotterati mc cloud!!!